Intel will be showing off a new chip design dubbed "Sandy Bridge" next week. This clever little part will be Intel's "first chip design that has graphics capabilities built into the processor" and is supposed to frighten AMD and Nvidia.

The basic idea is that it should give the company a cost-advantage while marking a shift in the chip making industry:

The new approach marks a shift for the industry, potentially eliminating the need for separate graphics cards in most personal computers. AMD got a jump on that change with the 2006 purchase of ATI Technologies Inc., giving it access to a stand-alone graphics maker. It's been using ATI's capabilities to craft a new line of processors called Fusion. Intel's existing graphics features, included in chips attached to the processor, haven't been good enough to replace rival products.

We're a bit skeptical as Intel is notoriously bad when it comes to graphics, but we'll see how this new design will be. [Business Week]